Even during the best of times, settling the Mohawk valley wouldn't have been easy. Though fertile, the land had to be cleared and broken before you could farm. Winters could be harsh, and life isolated. After the start of the Revolutionary War, survival became much harder. Because of the bountiful crops being sent to help support the Patriots, the Mohawk Valley was targeted. Raids from the British-allied Iroquois became brutal and frequent.
In 1777, the British attempted to strike the heart of New England through the Mohawk Valley. They laid siege to Fort Stanwix and cut off any reinforcements a few miles east at Oriskany. The Patriots were ambushed by some who used to be neighbors, and were massacred. Only half survived, almost 400 perishing in what became known as one of the bloodiest battles of the war.
This battle not only started my Hearts at War series with the first scene in The Scarlet Coat,
but has become a pivotal event still affecting the characters years later in The Tory's Daughter.
Even in 1781, as the tides of the war are about to change, raids continue and lives are lost. How can you expect to find love in such a time...especially with the daughter of your enemy?
Burying his wife is the hardest thing Joseph Garnet has ever done—until
he's called to leave his young son and baby daughter to fight Iroquois
raiders. When one of the marauders tries to steal his horse, the last
thing he expects is to end up tussling with a female. The girl is
wounded, leaving Joseph little choice but to haul her home to heal—an
act that seems all too familiar.
Though Joseph doesn't appear to
remember her, Hannah Cunningham could never forget him. He rode with the
mob that forced her two brothers into the Continental Army and drove
her family from their home—all because of her father's loyalties to The
Crown. After five years with her mother's tribe, the rebels and
starvation have left her nothing but the driving need to find her
brothers. Compelled by a secret he's held for far too long, Joseph
agrees to help Hannah find what remains of her family. Though she begins
to steal into his aching heart, he knows the truth will forever stand
between them. Some things cannot be forgiven.
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From time to time as I've considered the external fears that creep up on me, I'll look back to those times (among others) and am amazed at the bravery of men and women during many frontier war periods.
ReplyDeleteCan't even imagine trying to raise a young family in the midst of all that!
DeleteI have loved every book in this series and am not-so-patiently waiting for next one!
ReplyDelete<3 Coming soon!
DeleteThese look like great reads. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteVery welcome. :)
DeleteI have the pleasure of driving through that area and because I don't live there, but it's close, I always picture all the history of that area. I studied a lot about the time of Sir William Johnson for my novella in Backcountry Brides, which added to my interest in upstate NY history. The Mohawk and Oswego Rivers were part of the waterway that made going up the Mohawk one way to get to the Great Lakes... if you didn't mind portaging part of the way. Thanks Angela!
ReplyDelete